Hello everyone...will be making my maiden visit to Hua Hin soon and would really appreciate some help to recommend suitable hotels...we are a party of 8 and our requirements are as below:
-guest friendly
-with swimming pool
-with safe deposit box in room
-walking distance to beach and nightlife
-with breakfast
-budget 2000 baht per night

Here is my review on Chalelarn Hotel.
I stayed in a Superior Double room for around 5000 baht for 3 nights.
The hotel is decorated in a traditional Thai style which was a nice touch.
The staff were polite and obliging.
It is guest friendly and reception does not even require registration or ID check of your guest.
The room and bathroom itself are reasonably sized while the narrow balcony is just enough for smoking and little else.
The pool is at the rooftop and while there is a pool bar built it was not operational. This was OK for my group as we were mixing our own drinks at the pool.
Breakfast buffet was adequate and there was toast, jam, eggs, bacon, ham, sausages available besides the Thai items like noodles, porridge and rice.
The best part of this hotel is its location. It is walking distance to both the beach and Soi Bintabaht nightlife area.
There is a 7-eleven opposite and food stalls and massage centers located all around it.
There are also tuk-tuks permanently stationed in front of the hotel if you wish to travel farther.